Thread advancing reel



Aug. 13, 1940. w. F. KNEBUSCH THREAD ADVANCING REEL Filed Jan. 26, 19382 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fillfi Fi|17 WALTER F.) KNEEILISEHV WMEW GttomegPatented Aug. 13, 1940 PATENT" oFFlcs 12,210,911 THREAD ADVANCING REELWalter F. Knebusch, Rocky River, Ohio, assignor to Industrial RayonCorporation, Cleveland. Ohio, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationJanuary 26, 1938,. Serial No. 186,980

10 Claims. (Cl. 242-53) This invention relates to a novel form ofwinding'reel of the type which is adapted, by the action of the elementsthereof, to advancethread or the like lengthwise thereof in a pluralityof substantially helical turns. More particularly, the invention relatesto a reel of this type of cantilever form; that is, a reel which issupported and, if positively rotated, which is drivenfrom one end only,having its other end unobstructed by either supporting or driving means.The present application, which is directed per se to such a reel, is acontinuation in part of copending application Serial No. 7,113, filedFebruary 18, 1935.

The reel of the-present invention has numerous it far-reachingadvantages, wherefore it is adapted to widespread application inindustry It may be employed to particularly great advantage. in thecontinuous processing of thread or the like, such, for example, asartificial silk'thread made by any of the usual processes; e. g., theviscose, cuprammonium, nitrocellulose and cellulose acetate processes.For convenience, but in no sense of limitation, it will be describedhereinafter'in connection with the continuous processing of artificialsilk threadand, in particular, in connection with the manufacture by acontinuous processof multiple 'filarnent viscose artificial silk thread'Itwill be understood that it is equally adapted to the manufactureofany'thread-like article, whether of natural or synthetic origin.

- In the manufacture of multiple filament viscose artificial silkthread, it has long been rec- .ognized that, if the most economicalutilization of the manufacturing facilities is to be realized, thethread must be'produced at a high speed. At the same timefin orderadequately to process the thread, it is necessary that it be subjectedto each processing medium for a considerable period of time, as much asand in some cases more than half a minute under the most favorableconditions; i. e., where it is possible to carry out the processingoperation with the thread in the form of a single thread rather than theform of a package. In these circumstances it was been and is imperativethat such great length early recognized that in any method ofcontinuously processing viscose artificial-silk thread it thread mightbe sufficiently processed at the high been completely threaded up,

of thread be processed in a very small space. It was soon appreciated,therefore, that the great est-possibilities lay in thedirection ofcontinu' ously but temporarily storing-thethread, at least during theperiod of processing, in the form of a travelling spiral consisting of alarge number of generally helical turns. To that end,-numer ous attemptshave been made to provide a satisfactory thread-advancing, thread storedevice, such prior devices having in general been of one of two distincttypes. 4

On one hand, prior devices of this'sort have been formed of two or morewidely separated members, at least one being rotatable, around both orall of which the thread has been. wound by hand in a plurality ofgenerally helical turns. Examples are devices formedof spaced rotatablerollers-disposed ininclined relation to each other; likewise, devicesmade up of a single rotatable drum and, spaced therefrom. a cooperatinghooked or notched member serving to keep the threadturns separated fromeach other. On the other hand, devices of this sort have taken the formof unitary winding reels made up of interdigitating sets of bar memberscooperating to advance the thread lengthwise'of the reel. Y

" Such prior'devices have not been successful because of the greatdifliculties involved in threading them up; i. e., starting the thread.thereon, as well as in transferring the leading end of the thread fromone device to another.

In the manufacture of viscose artificial silis thread, for example, itis necessary because of the largenumber of diversified processingoperations which' must be performed upon the thread t employ for eachthread a considerable number it v of thread-advancing, threadstoredevices. Thus;

it has been found that as many as ten thread advancing, thread storedevices are needed to completely process each thread. Since severai.thousands of threads must necessarily be produced, simultaneously in asingle plant in order to obtain the necessary production, the number ofthread-advancing, thread storefdevices which must be employed in such aplant therefore ap preaches or exceeds one hundred thousand. From timeto timeall of such devices must be threaded up and the leading ends ofthe threads duly transferred from device to device. r

v While apparatus for the manufacture of viscose artificial silk threadby a continuous, method may run for months at a time after having theindividual thread-advancing, thread store devicesmust threaded up muchmore often than at first appears.

For one thing, all of the devices must all be threaded up ahd theleading ends of the threads must be transferred from device to deviceevery time the machine as a whole is started up, representing a task ofno small magnitude. Thereafter, whenever a thread is broken for anyreason-and a certain amount of breakage is bound to occural1 devices inthe series subsequent to the point of breakage must be threaded up, inconnection with which the leading end of the thread must be transferredbetween each pair of adjacent devices. Whenever a spinneret, spinningpump or the like is cleaned, repaired or replacedand in every plant alarge number must be and are cleaned, repaired or replaced dailythecontinuity of the thread-must be interrupted with the same consequences.For such reasons,

in a plant of even average size, it may be necessary to perform dailyhundreds, if not actually thousands, of threading up and transferringoperations.

The facility with which such operations can be performed necessarilyaffects to a very large extent the commercial failure or success of con-7 tinuous processing apparatus.

Prior devices of the first of the two classes above indicated; i. e.,those including one ;or more spaced rotatable members, are .by no meanseasy to thread up; indeed, it is always difficult and in'some casesimpossibleito thread them up other. than manually. This arises from thefact that the thread, if brought into contact with the rotating member,simply winds about that member and, inasmuch as the leading endobviously cannot possibly pass from such rotating member to the othermember without the aid of extraneous means, tendsto accumulate thereonin a shapeless mass. Therefore, it is'necessary to pass the leading endof the thread in the requisite number of turns by hand around all of theseveral members of the device. In order to process the requisite longlength of thread a large. number of turns must be stored on the device;e. g., from fifty to aihundred or more, in consequence of which fact thetime required to thread up such a device by hand is so great as torender the general use of devices of this type utterly impractical. 1 I

Certain, but by no means all, of the prior devices of the second type;to wit, thread-advancing reels, have the advantage of being selfthreading; that is, if the. leading end of the thread is brought intocontact with the rotating reel or wound once or. twice around the reel,

the'reel will automatically wind the thread and advance it lengthwisethereof in a plurality of spaced substantially helical turns. It is withsuch devices; i. e., self-threading. thread-advancing reels, rather thanwith devices of the first-mentioned type, that the present inventiondeals. Heretofore all of such thread-advancing reels have had both endsobstructed by driving means,

\ supporting elements, etc., which'have invariably impeded the freedischargeof the thread from the reel.

In starting the thread on apparatus employing such double-ended reels ithas been found necessary for the operator,'after he has once started thethread on a given reel, to remain in close attendance in order to beready'to pick the lead'- ing end of the thread off the reel when'suchlead ing end reaches the intended discharge point. if he does not pickoil the leading end of the thread at the proper time, the thread willprogress to the end of the reel, override the same, and entangle aboutthe shaft, frame, etc. Due to the high rate of travel of the thread, theamount of such discharged and entangled thread will, if overriding isnot prevented, grow large enough in a very short time to jam the reel,causing loss of production time if not, indeed, actual breakage of thereel.

Moreover, even if. as has been proposed, automatic transfer devices areemployed with such prior reels, similar disadvantages are experienced,these disadvantages being in addition to the important disadvantage ofconsiderably increased initial cost arising from the use of suchtransfer devices. With transfer devices, it is generally necessary toform a new leading end on the thread, this because of the fact that theoriginal leading end is frequently disposed beneath one or more of thefirst few turns of thread. After the new leadingend has been formed bythe transfer device, the several turns of thread containing the oldleading end continue to progress to the end of the reel, override thesame, and are discharged therefrom, becoming entangled about the shaft,frame, etc., as previously described. Thus even in the case of apparatusequipped'with transfer devices there is a very real possibility ofbreakageof the apparatusif the entangled thread is not promptly removed.

In either case, removal of the entangled thread andclose attention onthe part of the operator require so much time that, in the operation ofapparatus employing such reels, labor costs are excessively high,Especially is this true in view of the large number of reels which mustbe employed and the large number of threading up and transfer operationswhich must necessarily be performed. To this difficult problem; to wit,economically threading up the large numbers of reels which must beemployed in commercial practice and transferring the thread therebetweenwith a minimum of time and labor, the reel of the present inventionprovides the first satisfactoryv solution.

The features of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription taken with the am companying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure. 1 represents a sectional elevation through areel embodying the present invention, the section through the reel beinggenerally along line Il of Figure 2. Figure 2 is an end elevation'ofsaid reel, corresponding to the left-hand'end of Figure 1. Figure 3 is adetail sectional elevation of the illustrated reel along line 33, ofFigure 1. Figure 4 is a perspective of a reelof the present inventionshowing the reel while it is temporarily continuously storingv thread.Figure 5 is a perspective ofa reel of the present inventionshowing theannular bundle of thread which under certain conditions forms at the endof the reel. Figure 6 is a side elevation of a portion of an apparatusfor the continuous processing of thread embodying the reels of thepresent invention, the reels being shown diagrammatically. Figure 7 isan elevation from line l! of Figure 6 of a portion of the front of saidapparatus. Figure 8 is an elevation in perspective of a portion of saidapparatus showing the relationship of the reels to each other. In thedrawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

An illustrative embodiment of a reel embraced by the present inventionis shown in Figures 1, 2. 3, 4 and 5. Said reel comprises two wholly-nally extending barmembers 3, while reel "member 2 has a thread-bearingperiphery comprising a plurality of spaced longitudinally extending barmembers 4. The bar members of the two reel members interdigitate, beingalternately disposed. Each of the reel members is mounted for rotationabout its own axis, the axes of the two' reel members being disposed inoffset and inclined relation to each other in spaced parallel planes.The reel is mounted from one end only, having its other end unobstructedby supporting means, driving means,'etc. 7 1

'In the illustrated reel, reel memberl may be termed the 'concentricreel member, since it is mounted concentrically upon, fixed to, andadapted to rotate with drive shaft 5. 'It' comprises agenerallycylindrical hollow body portion 6 on which are rigidly mounted the barmembers 3. The periphery of the body portion is slotted to formalternating bar members 3-and recesses I, in which recesses are disposedthe bar members of the other reel member. The reel member is mountedon'a sleeve -8 :keyed to the'shaft 5 and is held in place against ashoulder 9 on the drive shaft by means of a cap screw In threaded intothe end of the shaft, the cap screw I0 passing through and clamping inplace an imperforate disc II which seats against and seals thecorresponding beveled body portion 6. All portions of reel-member I'areimmovable with respect to each other, so that there is obtained astrong, rigid reel member;

The other member may be termed the eccentric member, because while it isofgenerally cylindrical-form and' concentric with its axis of rotation,it is mounted with its axis slightlyoif set from and inclined to theaxis of drive shaft 5. The eccentric member 2, all partslof which arelikewise immovable with respect to all other parts of said member,includes a head formed of inner ring I2 and outer ring l3.'said innerring I2 having peripheral slots I4 adapted toreceive the bar members 4.Rings I2 and I3 are respectively externally and internally tapered as'shown, being held together by screws I5 (Figures 1 and 3) The barmembers 4 are rigidly clamped between the rings at one end thereof, saidbar members projecting between the bar members 3 of the concentric reelmember I The inner ring I2 has fixed therein "a'sleeve l6 by means ofwhich eccentric reel member 2 isjournalled on a supporting member H inthe desired offset and inclined relation.

- The reel as a whole should preferably be of such design asnot to bedamaged by the processing media applied to the thread.which are oftencorrosive in nature. The'reel members, or at least those parts whichcome into contact with 'corrosive reagents, are-preferably made of suchmaterials and in such manner as to be unaffected by the processingreagents. 'In the embodiment shown, concentric" member I is molded ofhard rubber, Bakelite or similar material, being molded around orhavingrigidly fixed therein the central metal sleeve 8. The disc] I,which aids in clamp ing the concentric member I on the drive shaft 5,may also be made of or coated with hard rubber, Bakelite or similarmaterial. Member I I may be similarly made up of partsformed of hardrubber, Bakelite or similar materials. A flexible sealing sleeve orboot' I8, which may be made of rubber or like material, may be disposedbetween order to the two reel members-l and as shown in'Figure 1, toprotect the bearings and other metal parts of the reel. By such aconstruction,

other end substantially unobstructed. v

The illustrated" reel operated on the same principle as the reel shown,claimed and described in copendin'g'application Serial No. 652,089, med1 l0 January 16, 1933. The rotation of the drive shaft 5' causesconcentric reel" member I to rotate. Contact of the bar members3 of saidreel member I with the'ba'r' members 4 of eccentric reel member 2causessaid "eccentric reelmember to rotate about its own axisyTherefore; during operation of the reel,both reel members rotate at thesame angular speed,- each about its own. axis.

the reel may be 'supported and driven from one end only, leaving itsBecause'of the offset relationship of the axes of I the twogenerally'cylindrical reel members, each turn of thread on'the reel iscarried by both reel members, and, as the reel meinbersrotate-the threadin each turn passes from onereel member to the; other. The threadstarting on each reel member winds on such reel member in a path atright angles to theaxis of "rotation of such reel-member. Therefore,because the axes of r'otation of the two members are inclined tov eachother, the thread in each turn which has'left one reel member at a'certainpoint longitudinally thereof to start on the other'reel membersubsequently starts again on said first-mentioned reel member ata pointspaced longitudinally from the first-mentioned point thereon. In thismanner the thread turns on the reel are caused to advance lengthwisethereof.

Since the reel comprises two generally cylin drical sets ofinterdigitating bar memberathe peripheries of the reel members formed ofsaid which advance lengthwise of" the reel. If the thread has suiiicientadherence to cause it'to cling to the bar members of the reel, as is thecase with wet thread,'-it need be only contacted with the rotating reel,whereupon it will be caused to form spaced generally cylindrical turnsas the reel rotates. If the thread has not sufficient adherence to clingto the bar members when contacted therewith, as if the thread be dry, itneed merely be woundabout the reel once or twice in secure a grip onthereel, after which it will be formed during rotation of the reel intothe,

desired spaced generally'helical turns The reel is self-threadingbecause ftheinter -i. section of the thread-bearing peripheries of the"reel members prevents theleading end of the thread from being carriedaround only one reel memberand thus pilingup thereon and preventi gljdvance of the thread; h the leading I55 end of the threadreaches theintersection of the reel periphe'ries of the two'reel members, it ispicked up from the bar members of one reel memher by those of the otherreel member. This is in contradistinctionl'to the action of prior, de'-.

vices formed of widely separated rollers, in which, as has beenexplained, if the leading end ofthe thread isfbrought into contact withone of such rollers it clings to only that member and wind around it.

In the illustrated reel, the amount of inclination ofthe axes of thereel members determines the amount thateach thread turn advances duringone revolution of the reel or, in other words,

determines the pitch of the helix formed by the,

thread turns on the reel. In. general, the greater the amount of suchinclination, 'the greater the advanceiof the thread turns and hencethe-larger is the pitch. of the helix; v Under certain .cir cumstancesit may be desirable to provide for adjustment of the inclination betweenthe axes of rotation of the two reel members. In the illustrated reel,for instance,supportingmember I], on which the eccentric reelmernber ismounted, is adapted to be adjustably positioned to vary the Iinclination of theaxe sof rotation of the reel members. The particularmeans for accomplishing this result forms no part ofthe presentinvention and therefore will not be described in detail herein but theillustrated adjustingmeans is the same as thatshown, described andclaimed in ..applicants copending application Serial No.

reel members determines. the direction of advanceof the thread. Ingeneral, it is preferable to so relate these factors that the thread isadvanced toward the unsupported end of the reel, since in this mannerthe cantilever featureof the reel can be utilized to the greatestadvantage. In the case of the illustrated reel, for instance, the threadturns may be advanced toward the unsupported end of the reel if the reelis rotated in clockwise direction when viewed from the unsupported end;that is, when the reel isrotated in the direction indicated by. thearrow in Figures 2. and5.

, The reel of the present invention has one end unsupported and. hasnodrive shaft or other extension which prevents winding of thread over theunsupported end of the .reel, which is extremely advantageous.

In the case of the illustrated reel, but a few seconds of the operatorstime ;is required for starting the thread on the reel and transferringit to the succeeding reel. Because the .reel is self-threading, it ismerely necessary for the operator to bring the leading end of the threadinto contact with the rotating reel or at most to wind the thread onceor twice about-the reel. I Winding of the .thread once or twice around'the unsupported 'end of the reel, which cannot be done withdouble-ended reels. Thus in the case of the reelof the present inventionthe threading upoperation is very simple indeed.. f I

Because one end of the reel is substantially unobstructed,'no harmoccurs when the turns of thread are advanced to and beyond theunsupported end of the reel; rather, the thread simply, discharges fromthe unsupported end of the'reel. Therefore with the reel of the presentinvention, in contradistinction to.prior.-doubleended r eels, there isno needior the 'operator to remain in close attendanceron there'el:after starting the thread on'the reel, an operation requiring only asecond or so, the operator can leave the reel to perform other. tasks,as to thread .uppther. reelsor to transfer a thread therebetw een,-etc.- Since no harm can follow from the discharging ofthe thread fromthe unsupported end of the reel, the operator can return at hisconvenience to effect the transfer of the leading end of thethread tothe succeeding reel.

To effect the transfer of the thread to the succeeding reel or device,it is merely necessary for the operator to break the discharged threadand pass the new leading end to the succeeding reel or device, anoperation requiring only one or two seconds.v The transfer of the threadto the succeeding reel or deviceis also facilitated I tion possessesother important advantages which are not readily apparent. i

It has been found that when the thread discharges from the unsupportedend of the reel,

which occurs whenthe thread is not being led away from the reel, suchdischarged thread will under suitable circumstances form either anannular bundle at the ends of. the bar members at the unsupported end ofthe reel or a web of thread across the unsupported end of the 'reel, or,in some cases, a combination of the bundle and web. The annular bundleor web forms either (a) in the threadingup operation after the threadhas been started on the reeland the reel has been completely threadedup, but the thread has not been led away from the reel, or (b) when thethread or filaments thereof break. In the second case, when breakage ofthe thread or filamentsthereof occurs after the thread has left a reelbut before it starts on the succeeding reel, the annular. bundle or webwill form at the end of the first-mentioned reel.

Figure 4- shows in perspective a fully threaded up reel to which thethread [9 is passing and from which it is leaving, the direction ptrotation of the reel and the direction of travel of the thread beingindicated by the arrows. condition fobtains when .the reel continuouslytemporarily stores the thread. Figure 5 shows in perspectivea fullythreaded up reel to which the thread is passing, but from which thethread This a is ,n'otbeing led, the direction of rotation ,of the.

reel and directionof travel of the thread tothe .reel being indicated bythe arrows. In the case illustrated in this figure, the thread reachingthe. unsupported end or the reel forms an annular bundle 20 which clingsto the ends of-the barmembers at such end of the. reel.

The annular bundle of thread forms most ef- I fectively when, the thread-is wet, which is gene'rallythe case in. continuous processing appa Suchannular bundle apparently forms Till of the reel but drops entirely freeof the reel when it leaves the reel.

The above-described annular bundle of thread will form at theunsupported end of the reelon a reel of the illustrated type; i. e., areel formedof two rigid interdigitating sets' of bar members whichrotate about inclined axes, when the sets of bar members are of the samelength at the unsupported end of the reel, as shown in Figure 1; thatis, if the planes in which the ends of the bar members of the two setslie intersect in a line which passes substantially through the center ofthe substantially circular open end of the reel. However, ithas beenfound that the formation of the annular bundle is facilitated if the barmembers of one of the reel members are made somewhat shorter thanthe'bar members of the other reel member, that is, if the planes inwhich the ends of the bar members of the inclined reel members lieintersect in a line considerably removed from the center of the circularopen end of the reel.

Under such circumstances the bar members of one set project somewhatbeyond those of the other set at the unsupported end of the reel andtherefore carry the thread alone at this portionof the reel. On theportion of the reel back of the unsupported end on which the thread iscarried by the bar members ofboth sets, the thread is positivelyadvanced by cooperation of the bar members of both sets. On the shortportion of the reel adjacent the unsupported end on which the thread iscarried by the bar members of only one set, the thread is not positivelyadvanced but is merely gradually pushed forwardjn a more or less compactannular bundle by the action of the thread turns discharged from theportion of the reel on which the thread is suported by the bar membersof both reel members. Thus the formation of the annular bundle isfacilitated, particularly since it is possible for the projecting endsof the bar members of one of the sets to give better support to theannular. bundle than under other circumstances.

' An even more important advantage of the formation of an annular bundleor web at the unsupported end of the reel is that such bundle or webserves as an efiective signal to warn the operator in the event ofthread breakage.

The formation of the annular bundle is also advantageous in signalingthe presence of broken filaments. For instance, if certain filaments ofthe thread should. break between reels, such broken filaments will forma bundle orweb at the unsupported end of the reel preceding the point ofbreakage; while if breakage of filaments should occur while the threadis on the reel, such broken filaments will collect in an annular bundleor web at the unsupported end of the reel-on which such breakageoccurred. Thus the, presence of broken filaments in the artificial silkthread, which in ordinary artificial silk manufacturing practice cannotbe detected until the thread is finished, is infallibly indicated by thereel of the present invention during the manufacturing process, when thefactors causing such condition can readily and quickly be corrected.

In any event, whether breakage of the thread 7 occurs or whetherbreakage of filaments occurs, the formation of such an annular bundle onthe reel is advantageous in actingas a quick, easily discernible signalto the operator.

Because of the cantilever construction of the reel of the presentinvention, it lends itself very well .to use in novel and extremelyadvantageous forms of apparatus for themanufacture of threadby acontinuous process or for the continuous processing of thread. A portion.of one form of such apparatus in which the advantages of the reel ofthe present invention are utilized to the fullest extent is shown inFigures 6 and 7 and in perspective in Figure 8. The illustratedapparatus is of the general form as that shown, described and claimed incopending application Serial No.

7,114, filed February .18, 1935, by 'walter Knebusch and Alden H.Burkholder. for the Manufacture of artificial silk.",

As shown in the drawings, the machine comprises a plurality ofdescending series of reels each of which series comprises several reels2|, 2 la, 2 lb, 2|c, etc., disposed in processing sequence and by meansof each of which series a single thread I! from a suitable source, suchas a spinneret disposed in a coagulating bath (not shown), is subjectedto suitable or necessary processing treatments. The reelsin the severaldescending series are disposed with their unsupported ends allextendingin the same direction, corresponding reels in processingsequence in adjacent series being disposed in corresponding positionshorizontally of the machine whereby constructional and operatingadvantages are obtained. The reels, moreover, are in the illustratedapparatus disposed in steppedarrangement, with the axes of all reelshorizontaland with the unsupported end of each preceding reel inapposite relation to the supported end of each succeeding reel.Therefore the thread may pass directly from the unsupported or dischargeend of each preceding reel to the supported or receiving end ofthe succeeding reel.

By reference to Figure 1, which shows a reel embodying the presentinvention mounted on a portion of the illustrated apparatus; it can beseen that in said apparatus the drive shaft 5 for the reel is journalledin the opposite walls of housing 22 which mayextend longitudinally ofthe machine as shown in Figure 'l and serve to support severalcorresponding reels of adjacent series. The supporting member llfo'r'the' reel is mounted on said housing. Each of thereels thussupported by the housing is driven from the drive shaft 22, extendinglongitudinally of the housing, through gears 24 and 25, In'theillustrated embodiment the gear 25 is rotatably mounted on the driveshaft 5 of the reel and is adapted to be operatively connected theretoby a clutch marked generally 26. The drive shaft 23 for a plurality ofreels disposed in horizontal series is adapted to be driven throughchange speed gears indicated generally by reference numeral 21 from ashort shaft "on which is mounted a helical gear 29' meshing with ahelical gear 30 mounted on a main drive shaft 22.

No means are shown for applying processing medium to the thread on reel2|, since it is intended that in the illustrated apparatus said reel beemployed as a set-up or holding reel to provide 7 a period ofcoagulation for the thread before it passes to the succeeding reels onwhich the thread is subjected to liquid processingtreatment. The

succeeding reels in the apparatus shown are provided with means forapplying processing liquids to the thread and collecting such liquids.In the design shown, since corresponding reels in adjacent processingseries are disposed incorresponding positions longitudinally of theapparatus, each of the reels in each corresponding processing stage hasmounted thereabove a suitable.

possible in a great degree by the reel of the present invention. In thefirst place, because of the cantilever form of the reels, they may beadvantageously disposed, as shown in the illustrated apparatus, inendwise relation to the operating face of'the machine, with theirunsupported ends all presented to the operator. By this arrangement avery much more compact apparatus is made possible than can beobtained'with other arrangements of the reels. This is very important inthat it results in a low cost of construction of the apparatus, lowplant space requirements, and makes possible less movement of theoperator about the apparatus, thus increasing labor emciency in thisrespect.

What is even more important is the fact that the'arrangement of reels inthe illustrated apparatus provides greataccessibility and visibility ofthe reels to the operator.

Because the reels are disposed with their unsupported ends all extendingin one direction toward the operator, they are very easily accessibleand visible to him for manipulation of the thread thereon, as forstarting the thread on the reels and transferring the thread thereto,inspection,

etc. The accessibility and visibility of the reels are increased becausethe reelsare disposed in stepped arrangement. The accessibility of thereels for operating purposes and the visibility of the reels inapparatus of the type illustrated are demonstrated to good advantage inFigure 8, which is. a perspective elevation of a portion of theapparatus showing several descending series of reels. As is apparent-from this figure, in the fronts, tops and agood portion of the sides ofall reels are easily accessible to the operator and clearly visible tohim. In starting the thread on a reel it is therefore aslmple'matter-for the operator to contact the thread near the supportedend of the reel or to wind it around the reel one or more times over theunsupported end of the reel, while in subsequently transferring thethread from the reel after it is threaded up it is equally simple forhim to pick 01! the thread from the unsupported end of the reel, form anew leading end and lead it to the succeeding reel or device. There isno need for the operator to reach around or between shafts, as isnecessary in apparatus employing the prior double -ended reels. Figure 8also illustrates how effectively the reels of the present invention canindicate when they are completely threaded up, or when breakage of thethread has occurred,by means of the formation ofthe annular bundle orweb of thread at the unsupported end of the reel. In Figure -8 annularbundles 20 are formed at the unsupported ends of the reels indicated bythe letters A, B and C, such bundles indicating either that each ofthese reels is completely threaded up or that the thread has broken. Ineither event, such annular bundles form very noticeable signals to theoperator that the thread should be transferred from such reels to thenext succeeding reels A',-B'. As

is apparent from this figure, evenif the operator is a considerabledistance away, he'can tell at a glance the condition of the thread onall reels.

It is further apparent from this illustration that even though it mightbe inconvenient for the operator to return immediately to complete thetransfer of the thread, no harm will be done, since when the bundles.grow to a certain size they merely drop at the supported endof thereels, into the troughs and other bundles proceed to form, suchoperations continuing until the operator returns to transfer'the thread.

Moreover, when the cantilever reels of thepresent invention are disposedin an arrangement wherein the-unsupported or discharge end of eachpreceding reel is disposed in apposite relation to the supported orreceiving end of the succeeding reel,

as is the case in the illustrated arrangement,

under suitable conditions, as with certain kinds of thread, suitablespeeds of rotation, etc., transfer of the thread from a preceding reelto a succeeding reel may under suitable conditions be effectedautomatically. That is, in the threading up operation, when the threadreaches the unsupported endof a preceding reel it will bedischargedtherefrom and be dropped oil or flung of! into engagementwith-the succeeding reel. Since the reels are self-threading, suchcontact will cause the thread to be wound about the succeeding reel in aplurality of helical turns which are advanced toward the unsupported endthereof and discharged, after which the operation may be repeated untilall reels are threaded up. This is an advantage which cannot possibly beprovided by any prior thread-advancing, thread store devices. a

From the above discussion it is apparent that the reel of the presentinvention makespossible the complete solution of the threading-up andthread transfer problems which have heretofore blocked development of acommercially practicable apparatus for the manufacture of artificialsilk thread by a continuous process. Whereas -inthe past threading upand transferring the thread from prior thread-storage,thread-adadvantage of extreme importance in view of the large number ofthread-storage, thread-advancing devices which must necessarily beemployed in manufacturing artificial silk thread, particu-- larlyviscose thread by a continuous process. Furthermore, as explained, thereel of the present invention lends itself advantageously to varioustypes of automatic transfer of the thread.

While the reel of the present invention has been discussed in connectionwith the manufacture of viscose artificial silk thread by a continuousprocess, it is obviously not limited to such use alone, but may beemployed in the continuous processing of any kind of thread,and, indeed,for various other uses than thread processing. For instance, materialsother than thread may be advantageously wound on the reel, and it isintended that in the appended claims the term thread" should include,besides thread, all materials capable of being wound and advanced on areel of the type to which the invention pertains. It

is apparent that various modifications may be made in the illustratedembodiment of the invention without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and that the reel of the present invention is not necessarilyrestricted to employment in apparatus ofthe type illustrated. i.

It is intended that the patent shall cover, by suitable expression inthe appended claims, whatinvention. v

.What is claimed is: Y

1. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising spaced.longitudinally extending bar ever features ofpatentable noveltyreside inthe members disposed around the thread-bearing periphery of the reel;means causing relative movement of said bar members during rotation ofthe reel-to cause them to cooperate to advance in a plurality ofgenerally helical turns thread wound on the reel; and means forsupporting said reel from one end only thereof, the ends of the barmembers at the unsupported end of the reel being unobstructed byanything impeding the free discharge of the thread;

2. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising two rotatablereel members mounted for rotation about independent axes in suchrelation to each other that the periphery of each reel member intersectsthat of the other reel member which reel members cooperate duringrotation of the reel to advance in a plurality of generally helicalturns thread wound on the reel, and, associated therewith, means forsupporting said reel from one end only thereof, the ends of the reelmembers at the unsupported end of the reel being unobstructed byanything impeding the free discharge of the thread.

3. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising a first set ofspaced, longitudinally extending bar members, a second set of spaced,longitudinally extending bar members alternating with those of saidfirst set, said sets of bar members cooperating during rotation of thereel to advance in a plurality of generally helical turns thread woundon the reel, and means supporting said sets of bar members from one endonly of the reel, the other end of the reel being left entirelyunsupported.

4. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising a first set oflongitudinally extending bar members arranged at intervals about theperiphery of the reel, a second set of longitudinally extending barmembers alternating with those of said first set, the bar members ofsaid sets having limited relative but common rotary movement duringrotation of the reel, and means supporting said sets of bar members fromone end only of the reel, the other end of the reel being left entirelyunsupported.

5. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising a bearing; ashaft projecting through said bearing, the projecting end of said shaftbeing wholly unsupported; two sets of interdigitating bar membersmounted about and driven by said shaft, the ends of said sets of barmembers at the unsupported end of said shaft being unobstructed byanything impeding the free discharge of thread from the reel; and meansfor rotating said shaft in a direction such as to advance the threadalong said sets of bar members V nally extending bar members, a secondrigid set of spaced, longitudinally extending bar members alternatingwith those of said first set, the axes I of said sets of bar membersbeing in inclined relation to each other, and means supporting said setsof bar members from one end only of the reel, the other end of the reelbeing left entirely unsupported.

' 7. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising a framemember; a shaft projecting from said frame member, the projecting end ofsaid shaft being wholly unsupported; a first rigid set of bar membersconcentrically mounted upon said shaft; and a second rigid set of barmembers alternating with those of said first set eccentrically mountedon said frame member for rotation about an axis offset from that of saidshaft, one end of the structure defined by said sets of bar membersbeing unobstructed by anything impeding the free discharge of threadfrom the reel.

8. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising spaced,longitudinally extending bar members disposed around the thread-bearingperiphery thereof; means causing relative movement of said bar membersduring rotation of the reel to cause them to cooperate to advance in aplurality of generally helical turns thread wound on the reel; and meansfor supporting said reel from one end thereof only in such manner thatthe ends of the bar members at the unsupported end of the reel areunobstructed by anything impeding the free discharge of the thread, saidreel including means for forming a thread bundle at the unsupported endthereof.

9. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising two sets ofspaced, longitudinally extending bar members disposed around thethread-bearing periphery thereof; means causing relative movement ofsaid bar members during rotation of the reel to cause them to cooperateto advance in a plurality of generally helical turns thread wound on thereel; and means for supporting said reel from one end thereof only insuch manner that the ends of the bar members at the unsupported end ofthe reel are unobstructed by anything impeding the free discharge of thethread, one of said sets of bar members extending beyond the other atthe unsupported end of the reel.

10. A thread-advancing reel of cantilever form comprising spaced,longitudinally extending bar members disposed around the thread-bearingperiphery thereof; means causing relative movement of said bar membersduring rotation of the reel to cause them 'to cooperate to advance in aplurality of generally helical turns thread wound on the reel; and meansfor supporting said reel from one end thereof only, the other end of thereel being left entirely unsupported.

WALTER F. KNEBUSCH.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. 1 Patent No. 2,210,911, August 1;, 191m.-

- WALTER F. KNEBUSCH. r

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as foilowsilage se'-jf ond column, 'line 7 for the word '.'operated" read -operates--; page6', s'ec"- ond column, line 114., for supiaorted read -unsupported--;and that the said Letters Patent'should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform .tothe record of the case in thePatent Office. I Signed and sealed this 22nd day of October, A. 1).191m.

Henry Van Arsdale,

(Sean Acting Commissioner of Patent st r

